Great Doctor Appointment Today!

So after my complaining post yesterday I decided that I would post something a little more up beat today.

I had my 38 week appointment today and while I know that I lost my mucus plug last Thursday I knew that didn't mean that anything had changed since last week.  Last week I was 1 cm dilated and still pretty thick.  Well this week....

Drum roll please...........................................................

3 CM and not as thick!!! 

3 cm!  That means that I only have 7 left to go.  It usually took me the longest to get to 3-4 and then I get to 6 or so and stall for a little bit and then BAM I'm at 10 and the baby is here.  This is great news!  Active labor starts at 4 usually.  I've been using Evening Primrose for a few weeks now and I'd say that it is certainly helping me dilate my cervix! 

I also asked Dr. Rohr if she would strip my membranes.  What that means, for those of you less educated folk...lol... is the doctor sweeps her fingers around the inside of my cervix to separate the bag of waters and cervix.  It can help to jump start labor by causing the beginning of a breakdown in the integrity of the bag of water. 

With Kate and Abby I had this done.  With Abby it didn't do too much but with Kate I went into labor on my own a few days later.  I'm hoping that since I'm already to 3 cm that she was really able to get in there and strip them out. 

I know that unless you've been pregnant before you don't really understand how exciting it is to be dilated to a 3 when labor hasn't even started yet.  At the end of pregnancy you are so ready to be done and meet your little one that any news of progression is great news. 

I could have jumped up and down on the exam table is she wasn't still examining me!  3 cm is almost a third of the way done!  Now I called Jason to tell him the great news and he wasn't very excited.  I don't think he understands the importance of this life changing news!  It seriously changes the way we will act once my water does break.

Normal routine:  water breaks, I waddle around with a towel between my legs making phone calls to the important people, then we wait until someone comes to watch our children and we go to the hospital.  This is done with excitement and a little bit of hurried activity since first labor was 4 hours long.  So we figured that we should probably book it to the hospital pretty quickly in case it went even faster. 

This time:  Water Breaks, I waddle around with towel between my legs making phone calls to important people.  Mom rushes to our house with Chuck and her driver and we will be leaving for the hospital while Chuck waits for someone to watch our children.  We will not be sticking around waiting for people this time.  If I'm already to a 3 and my labors only took a few hours when I start at a 1 then this one will hopefully go even faster! 

Yes, people I'm hoping for a VERY fast labor and delivery.  I have yet to push my children out into the world because when they decide to be born then literally shoot out into the world.  No pushing, very little warning, just BAM, here I am!

Here's the deal, labor hurts, it is one of the most painful things a woman will ever go through in her life.  Bringing a human being into this world should be something that makes you stop and notice things.  It shouldn't be easy, it should make you realize how big of a miracle it really is.  Well, that my friend is in the form of pain.  Pushing out a football sized infant from your vagina is going to hurt a little bit.  Guys, imagine pushing out a lime from your penis.  Not a fun picture. 

Why not get the epidural?  Well, I'm not opposed to them at all.  I've tried to get then with both previous deliveries but my babies decide that I shouldn't get to feel the numbing effects until they are already born.  Apparently something happens while I'm getting the epidural that causes the babies to decide to come right then.  Not in 10 minutes when the drugs are working, nope.  Right then.  So I figure, why should I waste everyones time and money to get an epidural when the baby will be here soon anyway.  I've come to realize that when I ask for the epidural it means that the baby will be there soon anyway.  So if I can hold off for a little bit longer I wont need to go through the pain of holding still while the give me the epidural. 

Yeah, when they tell you that you need to hold perfectly still while you are going through the most painful contractions of your life you really want to hurt them.  It's not possible but they want you to do it anyway.  Why they can't pause until the contraction is over I don't know.

So apparently I've decided that I enjoy blogging because every time I think I'm going to post something short and give you all an update it turns into a short story.  I guess I'm just excited today and I want you all to hear about it.  I'll stop typing very soon here and give you all a break until tomorrow when something else happens that I decide you just have to hear about!

Have a good day! 

Labor wishes for me please!!!

Only 9 more centimeters!

Yesterday I had my 36 week OB appointment.  Since Dr. Rohr is on vacation in Hawaii I had to see Dr. Smith.  She is another of the OB docs in Osceola and is great.  It was a successful appointment.  I found out that my Group B Strep test was negative.  Group B Strep is something that mom's can carry without being aware of it but it can be deadly to that baby during delivery.  If you test positive for it then you need to have antibiotics while in labor.  Not a big deal but annoy for mom. 

Secondly I got my Tubal paperwork signed so if I end up with a c-section they can perform the tubal at the same time.  So that is taken care of. 

Thirdly, Jason wants to go snowmobiling on Saturday and since he is going to be so far away I wanted Dr. Smith to check my cervix and see if there has been any change since last week.  When Dr. Rohr checked it was still closed up tight.  Well I've progressed to 1 cm!  Jason still gets to go snowmobiling but the good news is that my body has started the process...

According to my mom that means there are only 9 more centimeters left to go before baby is here!  It's not a matter of time anymore, just dilation!  I like the way she thinks!

Last week the exam hurt, it was really uncomfortable to say the least.  Well, after that I didn't have any cramps or contractions, which is very common after a cervical check.  This week the exam was painless and I haven't stopped contracting since.  It has been 24 hours and nothing I do will get them to stop.  They aren't super painful, just mildly painful.  They are different than my normal contractions though.  They make be think of pre-labor contractions.  The difference between these and my normal ones is that these wrap around from my back.  That usually means that they are real contractions and are actually doing something.  They aren't like transition contractions which are the most painful thing in the world but they are still painful. 

So with that news I've just been waiting for my water to break.  I'm hoping that it happens soon and that I get to meet this little one!  I'm only 36 weeks 4 days but if she were to come now they wouldn't stop labor.  But just in case I'm waiting until I know FOR SURE that this is labor before I go in. 

When I was in labor with Kate I had pre-labor contractions the day before that were just like this.  Then I went to bed and my water broke and she was born a few hours later! 

So here's hoping that this is it!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed but not going to cry if it all peters out either!

So wish me luck!